Three hearts, blue blood and a talent for escaping.
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With eight arms, no bones and three hearts, the octopus is one of the strangest animals in the sea.It is also one of the cleverest.
An octopus's arms are covered in , which it uses to , taste and feel.Many of its brain cells are actually in its arms, so each arm can explore and react on its own.
Octopuses are masters of .Special cells in their skin let them change colour and pattern in less than a second.Some can even change the of their skin to look like rock or seaweed.If a does find them, they can a cloud of dark ink and escape while the attacker cannot see.
Because they have no bones, octopuses can squeeze through any gap that is bigger than their , the only hard part of their body.Aquariums have reported octopuses escaping from their tanks at night.
Scientists have watched octopuses solve puzzles, open jars to reach food inside, and carry coconut shells to use as a shelter.They even seem to recognise individual people.
Octopuses do not live long.Most live for only one or two years.Their blood is blue, because it uses copper, not iron, to carry around the body.
Next time you see a picture of an octopus, remember: you are looking at one of the ocean's great problem-solvers.
Word box: 10 words
sucker
a round part that sticks to things
grip
to hold something tightly
disguise
a way of hiding what you really look like
texture
how something feels when you touch it, for example rough or smooth
predator
an animal that hunts and eats other animals
squirt
to push out liquid quickly
beak
the hard mouth of a bird or an octopus
portable
easy to carry
species
one type of animal or plant
oxygen
a gas in the air and water that animals need to live
Questions
Choose the best answer. If it is not right, look back at the text and try again.
1. How many hearts does an octopus have?
2. Where are many of an octopus's brain cells?
3. Why does an octopus squirt ink?
4. What is the only hard part of an octopus's body?
5. Why is octopus blood blue?
6. Which fact shows that octopuses are clever?
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